WHEELS ⚓️ WAKE
You may have heard of the late-spring event in Biarritz in the south of France, called Wheels and Waves, but we chose to visit the Northern version – in the upper part of Germany, Nethen Beach to be exact, called Wheels & Wake!
Now this place is actually only a 3,5 hours drive from Amsterdam, or 2 hours from Hamburg, just 60 kilometers from Bremen, but you’ll definitely need the route-planner on your phone to get you there. It is kind of in the middle of nowhere, but when you arrive – be prepared for a great party!
It’s an all-weekend event, second weekend of September, with flat-track racing at nearby Moorwinkelsdamm on Friday night and then drag-racing on the beach on Saturday and Sunday. Quite a few cool custom bikes from renowned builders as well as from visitors on display, among which this year the spectacular ZWEI lightweight bike by Wannabe Choppers.
Plus a really relaxed atmosphere, some cool stands with custom builders, parts and clothing, and plenty of food to be had as well. And lots of beer of course – we are in Germany after all! Camping grounds are available right outside the event grounds, so you don’t have to worry about having a couple…
I only came on Saturday so missed the “Friday Night Flattrack”, but was all fired up to participate in the “1/32 Mile Worldchampionship of Sandy Beach Motorcycle Racing” on Saturday!
Unfortunately I could not bring my 1971 Montesa Cota to life, so couldn’t compete…
But the racing was great fun, with a great variety of bikes ranging from stock road bikes to completely customized sand-racers…
You have all of 1/32th of a mile in the sand to outrun your opponent, which is just over 50 meters for us metric folks, but that’s enough for some daredevils to get to impressive speeds!
The pre-inscribed and vetted racers get to battle it out during the day on Saturday. But after the new “World Champion of Sandy Beach Racing” has been crowned in the early evening, everyone can have a run on the track! With the fastest competitors then going one-on-one again on Sunday.
Saturday night after the racing the party starts, with live bands outside, disco in the big tent, and more beer of course! Watching some of these guys in full black leather swinging their couple-hundred-pound bodies to the disco beat was quite impressive as well, I must say.
All in all, a great way to spend a weekend in September, whether you go out to compete or just watch.
So if you weren’t there this year, be sure to come out to the sandy beach 11-14 September 2025 to enjoy “LOVE, PEACE, MOTORCYCLES”, Wheels and Wake’s motto!
